Peer Evaluation

Because I could not stop for Death
by Emily Dickinson
Because I could not stop for Death – He kindly stopped for me – The Carriage held but just Ourselves – And Immortality. We slowly drove – He knew no haste And I had put away My labor and my leisure too, For His Civility – We passed the School, where Children strove At Recess – in the Ring – We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain – We passed the Setting Sun – Or rather – He passed us – The Dews drew quivering and chill – For only Gossamer, my Gown – My Tippet – only Tulle – We paused before a House that seemed A Swelling of the Ground – The Roof was scarcely visible – The Cornice – in the Ground – Since then – 'tis Centuries – and yet Feels shorter than the Day I first surmised the Horses' Heads Were toward Eternity –

The students were asked to write a paragraph describing Emily Dickinson's views on death based on her poem 'Because I Could Not Stop for Death' and to identify techniques used to support or emphasize them.

After completing the task, the students were to pass their work around the class for peer evaluation. The students were given freedom to make comments that should help their peers improve.

The final step was for the students to read through and consider the comments and suggestions made by their peers. Then they are to revise and rewrite their paragraphs.

Example 1

Original Paragraph.






Corrections and Comments by Peers.

















Revised Version.























Example 2

Original Paragraph.







Corrections and Comments by peers.










Revised Version.




Overall, I felt that this was a useful exercise and to an extent produced good results. In addition to developing their critical skills, the students were also able to learn something new as they read their peer's interpretations.

However, there were also some ineffective comments such as nice handwriting, neat, and so on. I think to improve on this activity I should have provided some sort of guideline or checklist so that students can have a clear focus as they evaluate their peers' work. Definitely something I would continue to look into.